Monthly Archives: August 2014

(Originally published on May 1, 2013. I’ve e-mailed this post to Boulder City Council and the City Manager this morning.)

By Max R. Weller

I’ve mentioned this concept several times in the past, but it’s worth repeating. Here’s one plan, which dovetails perfectly with Boulder’s (alleged) concerns about homelessness and the environment. Truly cost effective, compared to the 1175 Lee Hill Housing First debacle which is costing well over $6 million before a single one of the 31 units is occupied.

According to the 2012 MDHI Point-in-Time Report, there are 750 homeless people on the streets in this city (2013 results for area cities, from the count in January, will be released sometime this summer).

Clearly, if the goal is to provide housing for as many of Boulder’s homeless residents as possible, it makes NO SENSE to provide only 31 chronically homeless, single adult alcoholics/drug addicts (having a dual diagnosis of mental illness) with new apartments at a cost in excess of $200,000 per unit. There will remain many times that number still on the streets! Tiny houses are not a viable option for homeless families, but they can certainly work for all of the homeless single adults. I’m guessing, of course, but it seems to me that if all of the players in Boulder’s homeless shelter/services industry — Boulder Housing Partners, Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, Bridge House, and others — worked together with Boulder City Council and concerned citizens EVERYONE IN NEED COULD BE HOUSED, for no more money than is already being spent on grandiose projects which fall short of that goal.

Frankly, we need to abandon the practice of hiring umpteen bureaucrats, case managers, counselors, and other staff to provide “services” which are supplemental to the task of putting a roof over people’s heads. Many chronically homeless individuals, like me, neither want nor need their assistance.

I hope I live long enough to see true reform of the current corrupt system, but I won’t be holding my breath waiting for a tiny house of my own.

A Boulder District Court judge on Wednesday issued a ruling tossing out the charter amendment passed by Lafayette voters in November banning fracking in that city.

Judge D. D. Mallard made the decision in a case brought by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association against the city of Lafayette.

“The Court finds the Charter Amendment banning drilling is invalid as preempted by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Act,” Mallard ruled. “Accordingly, the Court grants summary judgment in favor of COGA and against the City of Lafayette.”

The decision in the Lafayette case follows on the heels of Mallard’s ruling July 24 that struck down a 2012 voter-approved fracking ban in Longmont. The Longmont City Council voted 7-0 in favor of appealing that ruling Tuesday night. The case will now proceed to the Colorado Court of Appeals.

A prepared statement Wednesday from Tisha Schuller, president of COGA, said: “For the third time in a month, a Colorado district judge has ruled that a local ban on fracking clearly violates state law. Today’s ruling was unequivocal, with Judge D.D. Mallard saying the operational conflict between the state’s robust framework of regulations and local bans is ‘obvious and patent on its face.’

“I couldn’t agree more, and I hope her ruling ends the activist effort to pass illegal bans against energy development. The Court clearly stated that ‘Lafayette does not have the authority, in a matter of mixed state and local concern, to negate the authority of the State. It does not have the authority to prohibit what the state authorizes and permits.'”

First, let’s clear up a common misunderstanding. In fact, local, state, and federal government agencies ALL recognize a mailing address as legitimate. This includes the local election authority which registers one to vote, the state DMV which issues a driver’s license or photo ID, and the IRS which processes income tax returns and mails out tax refunds — among many, many others. It’s no different for a homeless Boulder County resident than it would be for a wealthy Boulderite who sells his home to go on a trip around the world; both would use a mailing address here.

Many nonprofits in cities around the country choose to provide shelter/services only to locals who are homeless. Example from San Antonio, TX: Haven for Hope. Copied from their website:

To be eligible for our shelter and services you MUST: •Be homeless (Lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence) or be at immediate risk of homelessness •Be a resident of Bexar County with proof of residency •Proof of residency is a document that proves your status as a Bexar County resident; for example, tax documents, dated store receipts, library cards, etc. •Have government issued photo ID (such as a driver’s license, passport, military ID, or any state or federally issued photo ID) or be willing to obtain government issued photo ID within 30 days

I presume that the “travelers” are told to keep on traveling.

2) Forget the hugely expensive model of multimillion dollar housing projects which serve only a relatively small number of homeless clients. It will NEVER be able to house even the majority of those in need — the $$$ simply are NOT there to do so.

Instead, pursue building one or more “tiny house” communities for local homeless people; this is an emerging trend in truly progressive cities all over America, but Boulder, CO is missing out altogether. See this Associated Press article: Tiny houses help address nation’s homeless problem.

Frankly, I do NOT believe that the current leadership of Boulder’s homeless shelter/services industry is up to the challenge . . . They must be replaced!

$5,000 tiny house by OM Build in Madison, WI

This blog post is being e-mailed to Boulder City Council and the City Manager.

No doubt, apologists/enablers for the worst-behaved transients (a.k.a. Boulder Rights Watch) would consider what we see below police brutality — disturbing the drunken stupor of derelicts loitering in one of the city’s popular public venues:

Boulder police Officer Dan Bergh talks to a group of homeless people congregating in the “horseshoe” area of the Boulder Creek Path near Boulder High School during a foot patrol on Tuesday. Advocacy group Boulder Rights Watch would like to see a community response team organized to help ease tensions between police and the homeless. (Mark Leffingwell / Daily Camera)

Given the fact that pickled idjits here in Boulder, CO tend to pass out and die from alcohol poisoning, with their worthless “friends” also passed out and unable to call 9-1-1 for the paramedics in time, it’s necessary for police officers to check on their welfare. Asking to see ID and doing a warrant check are also legitimate police actions.

Needless to say, Boulder Rights Watch does NOT speak for the Homeless Philosopher. I’ve never been ticketed for anything in the 6 1/2 years I’ve lived here as a homeless man, and if I can obey the laws then nobody else has any excuse for failing to do so. I’m sick and tired of the bums whining about their self-inflicted problems with law enforcement. GROW UP!

Here’s a thought: Ban alcohol sales to chronic inebriates, and make certain that liquor stores and bars keep an updated list of drunks’ names and photos. It would also be good for retail liquor establishments to voluntarily STOP all sales of rotgut vodka, which typically costs around $10 for a 1.75L jug:

Boulder police Officer Dan Bergh checks on Thomas Ellington — who was passed out in the “horseshoe” area near Boulder High School — during a foot patrol last week. Police say that even with stepped-up patrols, the city’s smoking ban in Central Park and across the municipal campus has been most effective in moving the homeless out of that downtown area. (Mark Leffingwell / Daily Camera)

I’m very pleased to see that most of those commenting here are NOT buying into the inappropriate compassion offered by misguided do-gooders.

As to the homeless shelter/services industry itself (composed of both government agencies and private nonprofits, funded by both public and private sources) — their unwritten and unspoken creed is MORE HOMELESS PEOPLE = MORE MONEY. They have no incentive whatsoever to “end homelessness” nor do they want to “transition” anyone away from dependency on the social services system.

When you donate to Bridge House or Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, both of which steadfastly refuse to prioritize shelter/services for Boulder County’s own homeless people, you are supporting the FUBAR status quo. The transients and their apologists/enablers aren’t even grateful for the bounty they receive . . .

Swan used to hang out in north Boulder, smoking weed all day, and was part of a group of inebriates who loitered in the 4900 block of N. Broadway. Thank goodness they’re all gone from there, now. One of his friends, named Cal, froze to death in Swan’s broken-down RV last winter, and Swan himself suffered frostbite to several toes. Swan now uses a wheelchair to get around, although he walks better than I can.

BTW, Swan is from Chicago, IL.

Renee used to be at Boulder Shelter for the Homeless every morning, stewed to the gills, but she has also moved elsewhere in our fair city. One time, as I was reading a book and eating my lunch of refried beans at a shady spot in the neighborhood, Renee came staggering over with her vodka breath and asked if she might have a spoonful of my beans. I told her that a can of beans costs about $1, much less than the jug of rotgut booze she’d already purchased.

Is this where resources should be directed? Helping homeless people like these two?

Self-reporting is notoriously unreliable. I don’t believe for a moment that most of those surveyed are residents of Boulder, CO who formerly had homes here. Are they perhaps counting those who have been evicted from Section 8 or other subsidized housing?

Where, in all of this reportage, is any mention of homeless-on-homeless crime? Most of it is never reported, and the biggest reason I’ve criticized the worst-behaved transients is because they prey on other homeless people by stealing, assaults, rapes, even murders.

The self-styled homeless advocates are NOT helping the majority of those on the streets, so long as they continue to help the predators.

County continues its campaign of misinformation In Sunday’s Daily Camera and yesterday’s public meeting, the County Commissioners continue to refuse to tell us the truth about why they defy the will of their constituents and that of the Court by refusing to fix our roads.

The Commissioners went so far as to write:

“While we respect the judgment of the court, we are disappointed with the ruling, as it removes an important tool (the LID) from the tool kit” (REF: Guest Editorial, Boulder Daily Camera, “Roads, funds and road reconstruction” Domencio, Gardner and Jones, August, 17, 2014)

This is analogous to a burglar complaining that the police removed a lock pick from his tool kit. It shouldn’t be that difficult to understand. Using a LID for road maintenance is illegal.

How long do they expect us to put us with this behavior?

What’s the truth? Do we have the funds or not? On July 16, 2014, the County stated that “the Board of County Commissioners has already approved the budget for 2014 work and plans will move forward this year, independent of the legal outcome.” The next day the Commissioners approved a $4.4M contract with Asphalt Specialties for the repair of subdivision roads. By law the Commissioners cannot approve a contract without sufficient funds in the bank to cover the cost of the contract. Then the day after the Court ruled the LID illegal the Commissioners canceled the contract to fix our streets and told us “By necessity of this decision, the subdivision repaving plan for 2014 that was detailed in an email last Friday will no longer move forward as a result of the court’s ruling.”

So what is the truth? We know the County had sufficient funds on July 17th. Then the funds “disappeared” a few days later. Did the funds “disappear” to punish subdivision residents because the County lost the lawsuit?

The “County doesn’t have any more money” Immediately after the Court shot down the LID the Commissioners rolled out their tired old argument that “the county doesn’t have any more money to put towards the repaving of subdivision roads”. Really?

Does anyone believe that Boulder County can’t find 1.2% out of a budget of $366,760, 981 to honor their commitment to fix our roads. And if the County can pay for the projects listed below, why can’t they pay for fixing our roads?

Plenty of money for projects despite the flood recovery

The Underpass From Nowhere to Nowhere – Earlier this year the Commissioners spent over $3,300,000 from the Boulder County Transportation Sales Tax revenue to build a pedestrian/bike underpass at Airport Road and the Diagonal.

The Gilpin County Easement – This spring the County gave $1,500,000 of your money to a wealthy family so that they could continue to own their mountain paradise that lies almost completely outside Boulder County. What did we get in return? Access to trails? No. The ability to use the land? No. Just simply the ability to stand outside their property and gaze at how wonderful it must be to actually use the land.

Let them eat bikes – And while Commissioners want us to believe that we simply don’t have the money to fix our roads, someone ought to tell the Transportation Department. Because the Transportation Department has under construction or are planning in the coming years the following “transportation” projects.

In the past months, BoCo FIRM has been able to document that all the County’s excuses of whythey can’t fix subdivision roads, “it isn’t fair to city residents”, “the flood ate our reserves”, “the County is too poor to fix all the roads”, “it will cost $70,000,000 to fix the roads”, are not supported by the facts.

What we do know is that if we had been willing to be good “subjects” and pay our PID or LID tax, the Commissioners would fix our roads. And since we didn’t obey their command we will not have our roads fixed.

Both Boulder County citizens and the Court have made it abundantly clear. It is time that the Commissioners comply with state statutes. It is time to stop this nonsense and simply fix our roads.

The issue isn’t the absence of a plan.

The issue isn’t that the County doesn’t have the funds to fix the roads.

The issue is that these Commissioners have made and continue to make a choice that they will not fix our roads without extracting more tax revenue from the residents.

The bottom line for BoCo FIRM is that we will continue to work on your behalf until our roads are fixed without new taxes.

The Plan to fix our roads

The Commissioners continue to state that they need a “new” plan to fix the subdivision roads. In actuality, the plan to fix our roads is straightforward. We submitted it to the Commissioners over three weeks ago. It is available by clicking on the following link BoCo FIRM Plan to fix our roads and at our web site www.BoCoFIRM.org . This is the plan.

2. Finalize accurate and reliable costs to fix all subdivision roads using the same procedure used for the current plan to fix “community use” subdivision roads.

3. When the Commissioners set the budget for 2015 and subsequent years, allocate the necessary mil levy to the Road and Bridge Fund for the maintenance of all County roads.

Donate to BoCo FIRM

BoCo FIRM continues to use every tool in our tool kit, including legal recourse, to complete our goal of getting our roads fixed without new taxes. If you would like to help our efforts, donate to BoCo FIRM by clicking on the following link Donate to BoCo FIRM or visit our website www.BoCoFIRM.org .

Oh, joy! The high school students are once again going to be crowding onto the SKIP bus which I ride in the morning, and it always seems to be just one of the SKIPs, with those buses immediately before and after it being nearly empty of passengers bound for Boulder High and Fairview High.

Bubonic plague has returned to Boulder County, public health officials announced after fleas collected from the city of Boulder’s Marshall open space property, northeast of the intersection of South Boulder and Cherryvale roads, last week tested positive for the disease.

The flea samples were collected from a deserted prairie dog colony on the property, officials say. It is the first confirmed case of plague in Boulder County since 2011.

The threat of spreading the disease has not been deemed serious enough to close the open space, but county health officials are urging people to protect themselves.

“The fleas don’t travel large distances, so it’s nothing we’re seeing spread or becoming an epidemic. It’s confined to that one area,” said Lane Drager, consumer protection coordinator for Boulder County Public Health. “But if pets are going into these areas, they are risking exposure for themselves and for those pet owners.”

The plague can causes symptoms including high fever, extreme fatigue and painful, swollen lymph nodes.

All prairie dogs have fleas. No doubt, the prairie dogs who “deserted” the colony mentioned above took plague-infected fleas with them. I’ve been concerned by the varmints spreading to the area of my campsite, as well as the nearby Dakota Ridge neighborhood in north Boulder; apparently, they’re migrating from the National Guard Armory property at the southeast corner of N. Broadway and Lee Hill.

As University of Colorado students and instructors return to the classroom Monday, embattled associate philosophy professor David Barnett will not be among them.

The university is moving to fire Barnett, 44, after paying a graduate student more than $800,000 to settle claims he retaliated against her after she reported she was sexually assaulted by a fellow graduate student.

Barnett had been scheduled to teach two introductory philosophy courses this semester.

“At professor Barnett’s request, he has been given relief from teaching duties, with pay, until he is given a hearing on the allegations against him,” Brian Moore, Barnett’s attorney, said Wednesday.

CU spokesman Ryan Huff confirmed that Barnett was relieved of his teaching duties this semester after his request was approved by Steven Leigh, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Huff said Barnett will continue his research and committee duties within the philosophy department.

Barnett, who receives an annual salary of $77,668, is accused of compiling a 38-page report painting the female graduate student as “sexually promiscuous” and alleging she falsified the report of the sexual assault, according to a notice of intent to sue CU that was filed by the woman last month.

The university paid the student $825,000 to settle her retaliation claim.

In the Real World of private business, Barnett would have been fired immediately.

Will this homeless guy in Houston, TX be coming to Boulder, CO when the emergency overnight dorms at Boulder Shelter for the Homeless open on October 15th?

There are a lot of these human pack rats here, already. Some of them rent storage units to hoard their worthless junk, but if you can’t afford that, I guess an overloaded shopping cart is one alternative. The Homeless Philosopher prefers the minimalist approach to daily living . . .

It’s absurd for school to be starting before Labor Day, while the heat of summer is lingering. I feel sorry for the youngsters subjected to the stupidity of school authorities. Just as bad, many kids have to eat Michelle Obama’s school lunches:

Tonight at my campsite: more than enough chow to ease the pangs of hunger.